Aravallis

The Supreme Court directed that its November 20, 2025, judgment accepting the 100-metre height definition for the Aravallis, proposed by a committee set up by it, “be kept in abeyance” till a high-powered panel of domain experts undertakes a comprehensive assessment of the committee’s report.

The Aravalli Hills case refers to a long-standing legal and environmental struggle to protect one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. Stretching 700 km across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi, the Aravallis act as a critical "green wall" preventing the Thar Desert’s expansion.

The Central government had proposed a definition where only landforms rising 100 meters or higher from the local ground would be classified as "Aravalli Hills." In November 2025, the Supreme Court initially accepted this elevation-based rule.

Under the new definition, proposed by a committee under the Environment Secretary and approved by the Supreme Court on November 20, any landform that is at an elevation of 100 metres or more above the local relief (or local profile) will be considered as part of Aravalli Hills along with its slopes and adjacent land.

But the 100-metre benchmark and the use of local relief — the immediate surroundings of a hill — as the measuring base rather than a standardised baseline such as the state’s lowest elevation would result in a very significant part of the Aravalli range not being counted as Aravalli any more.

However, following widespread public protests and an outcry from ecologists, the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of the situation. On December 29, 2025, the Court stayed its own previous order, placing the 100-meter definition in abeyance.